[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1287]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE LIFE OF THE REVEREND FATHER JOSEPH W. KUKURA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. STEVEN R. ROTHMAN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 4, 2010

  Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
extraordinary life of Father Joseph Kukura, President of the Catholic 
Health Care Partnership of New Jersey, who passed away on February 1, 
2010.
  Fr. Kukura was a scholar, an ethicist, a trusted counselor, a 
generous and intelligent man of faith, and a friend to many. As a 
parish priest at Corpus Christi in Hasbrouck Heights, as director of 
the Bergen County Catholic Youth Organization and through his role with 
the Catholic Health Care Partnership of New Jersey he served the people 
of my district and the entire state of New Jersey for many years. He 
will be greatly missed.
  Madam Speaker, I know that my colleagues will join with me in 
honoring the life of this special man. We should all be so fortunate to 
leave such a wonderful legacy. I enter his obituary, which appeared in 
the Newark Star-Ledger on February 3, 2010, into the Record.

              [From the Newark Star-Ledger, Feb. 3, 2010]

       Rev. Joseph W. Kukura, 69, formerly of Hasbrouck Heights, a 
     priest of the Archdiocese of Newark for 43 years, entered 
     eternal life on Feb. 1, 2010. Rev. Kukura was the current 
     president of the Catholic Health Care Partnership of New 
     Jersey in Princeton, where he served for the past 10 years. 
     ``Father Joe,'' as he was affectionately known, was a 
     graduate of St. Peter's Prep High School in Jersey City, and 
     attended Seton Hall University and the Catholic University in 
     Leuven, Belgium. Father Joe was ordained into the priesthood 
     on June 24, 1967. As a young priest, he served at Corpus 
     Christi R.C. Church in Hasbrouck Heights for five years, 
     focused on youth and family ministry, and soon gained a large 
     and faithful following in the parish. As director of the 
     C.Y.O. in the early 1970's, he initiated powerful and popular 
     retreat programs for high school youth. He also served as a 
     member of the team ministry at St. Joseph's R.C. Church in 
     Oradell. Father Joe then entered the doctoral program in 
     moral theology at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. 
     From there, he joined the faculty at Immaculate Conception 
     Seminary, where he taught Christian Ethics for 15 years. He 
     left the seminary to serve for 10 years as vice president for 
     pastoral services at the Catholic Health Association, a 
     national organization of Roman Catholic hospitals, 
     headquartered in St. Louis, Mo. Father Joe returned to New 
     Jersey in 1994, and continued his service through the 
     Catholic Health Care Partnership of N.J., where he provided 
     ethical consultation to New Jersey's Catholic hospitals. 
     Father Joe served in various parishes as a visiting weekend 
     priest, including Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Sparta, St. 
     Pio in Lavallette and St. Aloysius in Jackson. He maintained 
     contact with many of his former parishioners, officiating at 
     their weddings, baptizing their children, burying their loved 
     ones, and attending special events. Always there when needed, 
     his generous and loving spirit drew people close to him and 
     his Christ-like example drew them closer to God. His motto 
     was ``it's the little things that count'' and he lived it by 
     his thoughtful and loving presence in the lives of those who 
     shared his love and became his ``parish.'' Father Joe was the 
     loving son of the late Anna and Joseph Kukura of Bloomfield, 
     and a dear friend to many.

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